


The Honorable Lady of the House Squish

by EverSquirrely



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Ambiguous Route (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), F/M, Felibern Week (Fire Emblem), Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:14:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25402174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverSquirrely/pseuds/EverSquirrely
Summary: The Honorable Lady of the House Squish, mighty warrior who loved gentle pets, usually comes to Bernie's door. But when Squish doesn't make her appearance, Bernie braves the great outdoors to find her. When she does, she must overcome an insurmountable evil: loud children who don't listen.Fortunately for her, Felix is very handy back-up when it comes to intimidation. Though maybe he is a secret softy under it all.
Relationships: Felix Hugo Fraldarius/Bernadetta von Varley
Comments: 5
Kudos: 38





	The Honorable Lady of the House Squish

**Author's Note:**

> So many ship possibilities, so little time-! This is my first idea for Felibern. I love that they both suck at people but still seem to enjoy each other. Which, in my mind, is a perfectly solid foundation for love!
> 
> I'm almost done with my second playthrough (Verdant Wind), so I'm looking forward to having more inside knowledge on other pairings than the ones from Azure Moon XD

When she woke up, Bernie did not think today would be an outside day. 

But Bernie would do it. She would go outside. For the Lady of the House Squish.

Bernie spent all morning trying not to worry. Squish didn’t necessarily come every single day. When she did, scratched the door around sunrise for tasty snacks. But Squish was a cat, and cats had their own minds, their own hobbies, and probably a lot more friends than Bernie. Squish had been known to skip days before.

But two days in a row felt like a lot.

So instead of being a quiet haven from worry and terror, Bernie’s room kept breeding questions: What if Squish had been trampled by horses? Or catnapped? Or worse, what if she left forever, tired of Bernie’s sad bits of food and scritches?

Bernie had to know. The uncertainty dragged her feet out into the open. It would be a great adventure, she told herself. She was a knight, out to rescue the brave and soft leader of the sky kingdom Squish. Bernie circled the thought in her mind as she walked the monastery, keeping her arms firmly wrapped around her chest, eyes searching corners, bushes, and barrels for the familiar black and white pattern and the friendly green eyes.

When Bernie did find Squish, she had passed her without even realizing it.

The market teemed with noise and movement, so Bernie had tried to get it over with as quickly as possible. When she had seen the group of kids talking loudly, Bernie tried to look away and be as small as she could be.

Bernie was a knight, she murmured to herself. She didn’t need to worry about the whimsical affairs of the land’s youngsters.

It was when she heard the meow that she saw Squish. Her voice was low, trying to be threatening, from under the loose-weave basket over top her. A group of kids crowded around the basket, trying to shove little bits of food through it.

“H-hey!” Bernie squeaked, running over. “Stop that!”

“We just want to feed her!” one of the kids shouted. So loud, why did children have to be so loud?

Another chimed in, “Yeah, see? Look, she likes it!”

The sight of Squish tightly huddled and trapped stabbed straight to Bernie’s heart. Rage bubbled up. “She doesn’t like it. Her ears are back, she wants to be left alone! Let her go and leave her alone.”

Bernie nearly leapt from her skin when she heard a sigh from just behind her. Bernie turned to see Felix, his sharp eyes fixed on Bernie. “What’s going on?”

Bernie hated when her body betrayed her. It felt as though her body remembered that she was outside, in the loud chaotic market. She was no brave knight on a quest. She was a messy-haired recluse yelling at kids. Whatever had made her forget that lasted long enough to scold the brats, but it vaporized in an instant. 

Bernie tried to force out words. Tell him that Lady Squish needed help. That these kids were torturing her. Bernie tried to remind herself of the small moments when Felix’s shell cracked and he wasn’t so scary. That he had a secret squishy softness inside that escaped from time to time in his smiles.

Right now, all she noticed was that everything about him, from the defined point of his eyes, his chin, his nose, all seemed as sharp as the swords he was so good with. The market roiled with sound and movement, and the sky yawned infinite overhead. Felix’s gaze was fixed on her, probably to scold her. She must have done something wrong. What had she done this time? She had done so many things wrong, he probably had a list.

“The crazy lady is mean!” one of the kids shouted. “She’s trying to keep us from feeding the kitty. She wants the kitty to starve to death.”

“W-w-what!” It shattered Bernie’s thoughts, anger bubbling again. “That’s a lie! You’re a monster, you’re torturing her!” Bernie squeaked. “She doesn’t want to be trapped, she wants to be left alone!”

Felix glanced at Bernie, the kids, and the cat. “Why is that cat under a basket?

“She kept running away,” the kid explained. “We wanted to make sure she ate!”

The long, low exhale from the back of Felix’s throat seemed equal parts impatient and terrifying. It froze the small horde of children. “You can’t force cats to eat,” he scoffed. “Cats are very careful creatures. When you trap them or grab them, they learn you can’t be trusted. Would you eat food from someone who can’t be trusted?” Felix snatched the morsel from the ground, placing it a few feet away. “You place it out like this, and go on your way.”

The kid wrinkled his nose. “But how do we pet her if she’s all the way over there?”

Felix rolled his eyes. “If she comes up to you, you try petting her.” 

“But she never comes up, she just runs away,” the kid whined.

“Then you have your answer. Give it up.”

The kids hesitated, glancing between each other. Felix may not be especially tall or broad, but something in his decisive movements made him intimidating, and the kids did not look eager to pick a fight. Felix took their moment of pause to kneel over. He gently raised the basket.

Exposed to the market, Squish froze. She didn’t give the food a passing glance. Keeping her belly low to the ground, she crept away, freezing now and again to look back at the kids. As she drew up to Bernie, she hesitated. She sniffed Bernie’s leg before crouching down behind her.

“See? The crazy lady just wanted her for herself!” another kid accused.

“Hey,” Bernie snapped. “She knows me.” Bernie cautiously gathered up Squish. She didn’t resist or stiffen.

Felix tossed the basket at their feet. “There you have it,” he said. “The cat likes people who are gentle.”

Bernie ran her fingers through Squish’s fur. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” Bernie murmured. At least Squish had been eating. Though she was still slender, Bernie didn’t feel her bones when she stroked her coarse fur. The poor Squish didn’t relax, even with the pets. Her eyes were fixed on the commotion of the marketplace. “My poor Lady of the House Squish… I hope they haven’t been mean to you before.” Bernie rubbed Squish’s chin, which she accepted cautiously. “Mighty mighty Squish Squish… Perfect Squish Baby Love Squish… Honorable Lady of the House Squish…”

“What did you call her?”

Bernie squeaked in surprise. She had thought Felix had left, but he was still there, silent as a cat. He must have shooed the kids away - they trailed across the market, glancing back. Felix, however, stayed, with his eyebrow curled. Almost certainly in judgment

Bernie could only hope he hadn’t heard all of it. Meekly, Bernie replied, “Honorable Lady of the House Squish?”

Felix furrowed his brow in amusement. “I’m not familiar with a Squish territory in Fodlan.”

Before she could stop herself, Bernie blurted out, “It’s up in the clouds, high above in the sunshine with cottony ground soft as whipped cream….” She sputtered to a halt.

Felix was smiling. A real one. The crisp lines of his face no longer seemed sharp, but vivid. Bernie didn’t think it was terror that launched her heart into her throat. Whatever the feeling, it froze her in her tracks.

“Well?” Felix asked. The smile even seemed to change his voice. Though still direct, it seemed warmer somehow. “I’m very curious about this unknown region. It sounds like a great House indeed. Perhaps an important ally.”

“I-it is,” Bernie stammered. She could volunteer that she had a few pages of little stories that she wrote, about the mighty Lady Squish and her adventures in the sky kingdom. He would probably think they were stupid, ridiculous, and a waste of time.

It would be wonderful if he didn’t.

Oh no. The silence lasted too long. Felix’s smile disappeared. He lowered his eyes to Squish, offering his fingers for her to sniff. Squish accepted cautiously, giving a brief shove of her forehead before burying her face back in Bernie.

He was standing close enough to brush her arm when he pet Squish. Why wasn’t he saying anything?

Stepping back, Felix finally spoke. “This one is a Fraldarius wirehair. They are everywhere where I grow up. They may not be the softest cats, but they are very helpful with mice.”

“So like you!” Bernie blurted.

Uh oh. Felix’s cheeks turned a brilliant red, and his forehead furrowed. Bernie ruined it. “What is that supposed to mean?” he stammered.

“N-nothing! It’s not an insult, I swear, you can’t prove I meant it as an insult. But I understand if you never want to talk to me again.”

Another sigh, but this one seemed different. Tired. Felix’s hand found his forehead. “This again?”

_ This again?  _ It felt like a strange thing to say. She hadn’t seen this expression on him before. His eyebrows raised as though he was concerned, but he sounded weary. 

Bernie cleared her throat. She summoned up her courage. “You’re not… you’re not especially soft. Like, in how you talk, I don’t know if you’re…” Bernie cleared her throat again. This time Felix’s smile was a smirk. “But you are helpful. You’ve helped me a bunch of times after all…” Smiling to herself, she added, “And no one can force you to do anything. You will never do anything just to please someone. If you don’t like something, you just walk away.”

Felix chuckled. “So first I was a ghost, and now I’m a cat?”

“W-would that be so bad?” Bernie stammered. “Cats are wonderful and they are very respectful of recluses and their need for independence.”

Bernie’s heart jumped to her throat. Another one of those broad, goofy grins. “I told you before. I don’t dislike cats.” He bowed, which felt uncharacteristically formal. “A pleasure to meet you, the Honorable Lady of the House Squish.”

“Was that a joke?” Bernie marveled.

“You can’t prove I meant it as a joke,” Felix replied. He waved one hand, before going on his way.


End file.
